Domestic and industrial wipers are often used to quickly absorb both polar liquids (e.g., water and alcohols) and nonpolar liquids (e.g., oil). The wipers must have a sufficient absorption capacity to hold the liquid within the wiper structure until it is desired to remove the liquid by pressure, e.g., wringing. In addition, the wipers must also possess good physical strength and abrasion resistance to withstand the tearing, stretching and abrading forces often applied during use. Moreover, the wipers should also be soft to the touch.
In the past, nonwoven fabrics, such as meltblown nonwoven webs, have been widely used as wipers. Meltblown nonwoven webs possess an interfiber capillary structure that is suitable for absorbing and retaining liquid. However, meltblown nonwoven webs sometimes lack the requisite physical properties for use as a heavy-duty wiper, e.g., tear strength and abrasion resistance. Consequently, meltblown nonwoven webs are typically laminated to a support layer, e.g., a nonwoven web, which may not be desirable for use on abrasive or rough surfaces. Spunbond webs contain thicker and stronger fibers than meltblown nonwoven webs and may provide good physical properties, such as tear strength and abrasion resistance. However, spunbond webs sometimes lack fine interfiber capillary structures that enhance the adsorption characteristics of the wiper. Furthermore, spunbond webs often contain bond points that may inhibit the flow or transfer of liquid within the nonwoven webs. In response to these and other problems, composite fabrics were also developed that contained a nonwoven web of substantially continuous fibers hydraulically entangled with pulp fibers. Although these fabrics possessed good levels of strength, they sometimes lacked good oil absorption characteristics.
As such, a need remains for a fabric that is strong, soft, and also exhibits good absorption properties for use in a wide variety of wiper applications.